The Bottom Line Accounting

A question that I am often asked this time of year as my clients are sending their child off to college for the very first time is: Can I still claim my college student child as a dependent on my income taxes?
Most of the time the answer is yes. But there are some qualifications for that.
You may still claim your son or daughter if they are under the age of 24 at the end of the year and enrolled in college on a full-time basis (that is determined by how many credit hours their school considers full-time). They need to have attended college full-time for at least five months out of the year.
He/she must live with you for more than one half of the year (please note that he or she is considered as having lived with you while temporarily away from home due to education, illness, business, vacation or military service).
If your child works while attending school, his/her earnings cannot have provided more than one half of his or her own support. (T
his is rarely an issue.)
If a student meets these four tests, the parents may claim the exemption if the student meets the general dependency tests under section 152(b).
It is very IMPORTANT to note this next part:
If your child is going to file his/her own tax return (as they may choose to do if they are working while attending school), and you plan to claim them as an exemption on your personal taxes, when he/she fills out their personal tax return, make sure they DO NOT check box 6a in the first section of form 1040 because you will be claiming them. If they do claim themselves on their own return, it will lead to discrepancies and the need to amend both your return and their return.